This invention relates to transaction processing and analysis systems, including check verification systems, and more particularly, to a method and system for processing and developing a local customer database of customer information, such as check verification status and transaction frequency and dollar volume over specified intervals, that can be used for check verification, marketing and other customer relations purposes.
Retail and other business establishments that serve a large number of customers generally have a problem obtaining transactional information about their customers, such as for identifying new customers and determining transactional patterns for repeat customers (such as transactional frequency and dollar volume).
For those stores that experience a high volume of check transactions, an immediate customer information problem is determining whether to authorize a check transaction in the typical situation where the sales clerk does not personally know the purchaser. Beyond this immediate problem of check verification, these stores have a broader need for gathering transactional information that could be used in developing customer profiles useful in targeting and implementing advertising, marketing and promotions.
For example, a typical grocery store does a high transactional volume with checks comprising a significant percentage of the total transactions (typically as much as 85%). These businesses strive for maximum efficiency in completing transactions at the couched counter, which results in a minimum of contact between the customer and the sales clerk. In this sales environment, neither clerks nor store managers typically develop any significant personal relationship with an individual customer.
Since check transactions account for such a significant percentage of a grocery store""s business, these stores naturally make an effort to minimize the number of bad checks that will be returned. Typically, the store will require an additional piece of identification, such as a driver""s license and/or a major credit card. However, this requirement for additional identification reduces the efficiency of the couched process, and inconveniences the significant majority of check transaction customers who do not write bad checksxe2x80x94typically, a grocery store""s bad check experience will be approximately 2% of its check transactions.
Thus, check verification presents a store with problems in customer relations and risk management. A store naturally seeks to improve customer relations with the great majority of customers who do not present check transaction problems by efficiently and quickly authorizing check transactions. However, the store must guard against the financial risks from customers who do write bad checks, either as part of a concerted bad check scheme or as a result of less larcenous conduct that may range from simple bookkeeping mistakes to overly aggressive check floating. In the former case, bad check risk is greatly dependent upon abnormal check transaction activity over a given interval. In the latter cases, the bad check risk is greatly dependent upon check transaction history (total check transaction frequency and dollar volume at a store).
The check transaction risk management problem has two principal aspectsxe2x80x94the risk that a person will write a bad check and the risk that a bad check cannot be recovered. Again, both of these risk factors are greatly dependent upon a customer""s historical check transaction activity. As the total number of check transactions by a customer at a particular store increases, both the risk that the customer will write a bad check decreases, and more significantly, the risk that store will not be able to recover on a bad check decreases.
For example, a customer with fewer than 200-300 check transactions at a store presents a relatively high risk in terms of recovery on a bad check, while a customer with more than 600-700 check transactions presents a minimal risk. Thus, a store practicing risk management should put substantially more restrictions in terms of check transaction frequency and total dollar volume over given intervals in the former case than in the latter.
These risk management problems are multiplied in the case of multiple store businesses, particularly in the case of concerted bad check cashing schemes. In that case, the typical pattern is to move from store to store within a relatively short period of time.
Beyond these check verification and risk management problems, grocery stores have a broader problem in accumulating customer information because of the emphasis on minimizing the amount of time required for a sales transaction, and the attendant impersonality of the customer relationship. Thus, it is extremely difficult to develop any meaningful customer profiles, or to identify customer groups such as regular customers and new customers who might become regular customers. If a store could accumulate more detailed customer information, customer profiles could be developed and used for targeted advertising, marketing and promotional programs.
Accordingly, a need exists for a transaction processing system for individual stores (in both single and multiple store environments) that facilitates check transactions by improving the efficiency of the check verification process, and that maintains a local customer database containing transactional information about the store""s customers useful for check verification risk management, and for other customer relations purposes such as identifying new customers and profiling regular customers.
Prior credit verification systems require connecting a point-of-sale terminal through telephone lines to a remote transaction processing system, thereby increasing not only the cost of operating the systems, but also increasing the time for providing check verification. Also, existing systems typically do not focus on maintaining a local customer database useful not only for check transaction processing, but also for identifying new customers and developing customer profiles for regular customers.
In prior systems, information regarding checks returned to a store by its bank is entered into a computer (PC). This PC stores information on that check (name, address, dollar amount of the check, reason for the return of the check, etc.) and this PC can be programmed to transfer that data to other processors controlling point-of-sale keypad terminals, both in the same and in other store-based operations. Responses displayed by one of these point-of-sale terminals may be altered pursuant to these transfers of data. Alternatively, data on returned checks may be entered into a multiple tasking computer environment in which the same processor simultaneously manages the operations of returned check entry and point-of-sale keypad operation. This multiple tasking processor can be programmed to transfer data to other similar store-based operations by telephone communications.
Copending patent application Ser. No. 07/826,255 discloses a system and technique wherein a customer""s checking account number may be used as a unique customer identification number to provide credit verification and also to perform marketing functions. In such a prior system, such customer checking account numbers have been manually entered by the retail store clerk, thus causing delay and possible inaccuracies. A need has thus arisen for an automated system for providing quick and efficient check verification and marketing follow-up. Previous automatic readers have, however, not been satisfactory for such purposes, because of their inability to uniformly detect desired account information on all checks in a consistent manner.
Marketing by retail stores has previously been confined to advertising to large segments of the population, and often to existing customers. Competition among stores has made it more important to target advertising, and a need has arisen for marketing techniques to target non-customers or infrequent customers. It would be particularly advantageous if such targeted marketing could be accomplished in conjunction with a check verification system.
Important aspects of the present invention are to facilitate check transactions by reducing the requirements for customer identification, to enable a store to adopt a risk management approach to check verification based on a customer""s transactional history (frequency and dollar volume over specified intervals), and to improve a store""s marketing and other customer relations programs by collecting transactional data for that store, both current and historical, that can be used to identify new or infrequent customers, develop customer profiles and to perform targeted marketing.
More specifically, this invention is a check transaction processing system that uses a customer""s checking account number as a unique customer identification number. Thus, the system does not require time-consuming checking of additional customer identification, but only requires the speedy entry of the customer""s checking account number by use of an improved automatic check reader in accordance with the present invention. The system operates at an individual store, and maintains at that store a local customer database of customer records, each identified by the corresponding customer check identification number. The customer records also include customer information, such as check verification data (such as verification status) as well as other selected transactional data (such as transaction frequency and dollar volume), the verification and transaction data being regularly updated with new data (such as during check transaction verification).
The system includes one or more transaction terminals, coupled to a transaction processor that stores the customer database. A transaction terminal is used to transmit a customer information request (such as for check transaction verification), which includes an automatically read customer""s check identification number, from the point of sale (POS) to the transaction processor.
The transaction processor processes the customer information request, using the check identification number to search the customer database and retrieve the corresponding customer record, if any. Based on the customer information in the customer record, or the lack of a customer record, the transaction processor returns an appropriate response (such as check verification status) and marketing response information to the transaction terminal.
Thus, the method of this invention for check transaction processing involves various aspects of: (a) identifying a customer by automatically reading the customer""s unique check ID; (b) developing and maintaining for a store a local customer database of customer records, each identified by the corresponding customer check identification number, and each including customer information (such as verification status and transactional data); (c) generating a customer information request; (d) processing the request using the customer check identification number to access the corresponding customer record, if any; (e) returning an appropriate customer information response based on the customer information in the customer record; (f) updating the customer database regularly to reflect new customer information; and (g) utilizing the database to perform targeted marketing functions.
More specific aspects of the preferred embodiment of the invention are the following:
The transaction terminals and the transaction processor form a token ring data communication network. Each transaction terminal includes (a) an automatic check reader constructed in accordance with the present invention for automatically entering check identification numbers, along with a keypad for entering function codes and appropriate transaction data, which form customer information requests, and (b) a display for displaying the requests and the returned responses.
The customer records in the customer database include an assigned check verification status, such as POSITIVE (transaction authorized), NEGATIVE (transaction not authorized) or CAUTION (transaction should be scrutinized or subject to certain conditions). The first time a customer attempts a check transaction at a store (i.e., a search of the customer database pursuant to a check verification request indicates no existing customer record), a new customer record with a CAUTION status is created, and a CAUTION response is returned to the transaction terminal. The customer remains in the CAUTION status for a period of time sufficient for this initial check to clear or be returned. If this CAUTION/POSITIVE interval passes, the system automatically updates status to POSITIVE; if the check is returned, customer status is updated by inputting a NEGATIVE status.
In addition to check verification status data, the local customer database includes transactional data such as transaction frequency and dollar volume over specified intervals. This transactional data can be used to place conditions risk management on check transaction verification over and above verification status. For example, in the case of a customer with either CAUTION or POSITIVE status, if a check transaction exceeds certain specified transaction limits frequency and/or dollar amount over a specified interval (such as day, week or total), a CALL MANAGER response is returned in response to a check verification request, regardless of customer status.
Moreover, because the check transactional data is generated and maintained locally, it provides significant information about the store""s customers over and above the information necessary for check verification risk management. New customers are readily identified, and frequency and dollar volume information may be used to establish customer profiles and to target advertising, marketing and promotional programs, and for other customer relations purposes.
In the case of a multiple store business, each store has a local check transaction processing system, with one of the systems being designated a host site and the rest being designated remote sites. At selected intervals, each remote system transmits to the host selected customer information from its local customer database (such as customer records for those customers with CAUTION and NEGATIVE status including transactional data), which is used to update the host customer database to include this global customer information. The host, in turn, transmits that global customer information to the other remote systems.
Check transaction processing is implemented by a multi-tasking program executing in the transaction processor. The program includes: (a) a terminal manager task that implements network data communication for the transaction terminals, communicating customer information requests and responses; (b) a Data Manager Task that controls the database operations necessary to respond to customer information requests and to update the customer information in the database; and (c) an Event Manager Task that implements system activities such as backup and database purge, and in the case of multiple-store systems, implements host/remote communications activities to transfer selected customer information among the stores for updating each store""s local customer database with the selected global customer information.
Important features and advantages of this invention are the following. The check transaction processing system uses the automatic reading of the customer""s check identification number, which is used as a unique customer identification number, thus avoiding the requirement for additional identification and the attendant delay in completing the check transaction.
The system develops and maintains a local customer database, allowing the store to accumulate customer information relevant to the store""s customers over and above that information necessary for check verification. The system provides for the selection of procedures and criteria for database management and check verification, allowing the store owner/manager considerable flexibility in developing and using the customer information in the store""s customer database.
For check verification, the system uses three primary status levelsxe2x80x94POSITIVE, NEGATIVE and CAUTIONxe2x80x94allowing the store to identify those customers with a bad check outstanding, and to identify new customers and establish selected interim risk management procedures for granting those customers check transaction privileges. In addition to check verification status, the system collects and accumulates selected additional transactional data, including frequency and dollar amounts over specified intervals (such as Day/Week/Month/Quarter/Total) and other historical information such as departments shopped, products purchased and the like, thus allowing the store to adopt risk management approach to check verification tailored to the store""s particular customer and financial situation by conditioning check authorization on meeting certain selected transactional limits regardless of customer status (the CALL MANAGER response), and allowing the store to develop customer profiles and to target advertising, marketing and promotions, and otherwise improve customer relations.
For multiple-store businesses, the system can use automatic host/remote transfer of selected customer information to upgrade the local customer database at each store with global customer information (such as those customers with CAUTION and NEGATIVE check verification status), thereby maximizing protection against bad checks while maintaining the local character of the store""s customer database.
The check transaction processing system is implemented by a multi-tasking program, and uses local area network data communication among the transaction terminals and the transaction processor, allowing efficient operation of the system at each individual store.
Other objects, features and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the drawings and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, and the appended claims.